First Principles: Liberty Is A Word Which, According As It Is Used, Comprehends the Most Good and the Most Evil of Any In the World

“Liberty is a word which, according as it is used, comprehends the most good and the most evil of any in the world. Justly understood it is sacred next to those which we appropriate in divine adoration; but in the mouths of some it means anything, which enervate a necessary government; excite a jealousy of the rulers who are our own choice, and keep society in confusion for want of a power sufficiently concentered to promote good.” – Oliver Ellsworth (1787)

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Thought For the Day: Don’t Ask Me Who’s Influenced Me. A Lion Is Made Up of the Lambs He’s Digested, and I’ve Been Reading All My Life

“Don’t ask me who’s influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he’s digested, and I’ve been reading all my life”. – Giorgos Seferis, writer, diplomat, Nobel laureate (13 Mar 1900-1971)

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To Walk Like Job

To Walk Like Job
by Michael Doyle

There is nothing so much as we regret
As to have not leaned in toward the net
Fending off against all intimidation
And fighting back with concentration

We see the proof in the documentation
But not so much in its ready duplication
We find in this relatable story
A model in understanding God's glory

Enduring suffering yet staying upright
Job shunned evil in the black of the night
Knowing that evil must be faced down
For the faithful to wear victory's crown

The story told comes early in mankind's time
And sets out El Shaddai's glory in its rhyme
This came in sequence as the patriarchs found
The roots of Israel is a tale quite profound

Even in its elusively documented conversation
That came when Job met his starry destination
And found himself subject to troubling accusation
Adversarial as is the steps of Satanic procession

Demon Forces are often let loose
Their best attempt at delivering a bruise
Against humanity to mark us in God's eyes
In a dark scheme of manipulation and despise

Satan is the accuser and father of all lies
And was allowed to test Job in all ways that apply
The great beast was allowed off its leash
To test if true faith is lost in living the least

Yet, despite this pain of circumstance to his dignity
Would cause Job to quit his godly ways or integrity
Job stayed strong through God, and for God, he maintained
Everything that was challenge was as if strongly gained

Sometimes God's people suffer through no fault of their own
But we must remain faithful to God to serve Him on His throne
Faithful that in the end, all believers will understand
That all holy persons willingly follow God's great commands

Each step of the struggle is well-documented
Yet, very rarely has such integrity been duplicated
Humanity too often loses the will to live with true zeal
And to nobly trust in God's will as it is revealed

Job stayed the course despite life's traps
Walking with true courage with any sort of maps
He pushed forward and trusted in God's hand
Knowing God will be triumphant in all He commands

Words without knowledge only leads to obscurity
That attempts to blind us as if God's will is a mystery
The bottom line is that God is who sets the foundation
And it is humanity that owes God the explanation

God assigned Job a set of never envisioned tasks
That came to Job in a deluge of excessive asks
Each requiring Job to never give up his trust
As he, and we too, turn to God in prayer as we must

Humbling ourselves given our finite understanding
We walk in purity and know our place is not demanding
But instead to accept whatever comes our ways
As we walk as Job did throughout all of his holy days

(c) March 12, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved

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Thought For the Day: We Cannot Seem To Escape the Desire To Feel Productive With Our Time. I’m Not Sure If That’s By Choice or Trauma

“We cannot seem to escape the desire to feel productive with our time. I’m Not Sure If That’s By Choice or Trauma.” – Jonny Sun

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First Principles: The Principle of Spending Money To Be Paid By Posterity, Under the Name of Funding, Is But Swindling Futurity On A Large Scale

“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” – Thomas Jefferson (1816)

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First Principles: They Define A Republic To Be A Government of Laws, and Not of Men

“They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men.” – John Adams (1775)

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Thought For the Day: Humans Think They Are Smarter Than Dolphins Because We Build Cars and Buildings and Start Wars…Dolphins Believe That They Are Smarter For Exactly the Same Reasons

“Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc., and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons.” -Douglas Adams, writer, dramatist, and musician (11 Mar 1952-2001)

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With Uplifted Voice

With Uplifted Voice
by Michael Doyle

With uplifted voice
We join in our praise
Keeping the spirit to rejoice
Throughout our days

As long as the day has length
The Lord is my special strength
As the days pass, once again
We end each prayer with Amen

Protecting us as darkness falls
Our victories stand 10 feet tall
We join hands, becoming strong
As we sing our victory song

Linked hand-in-hand among friends
We know how this story ends
Darkness may fall before victory
Yet still, God gives us our liberty

Chains are lifted to free our souls
All circumstances are in God's control
Turning the world's darkness into light
My sins have been washed away, becoming white

(c) March 10, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved

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Thought For the Day: Strength Does Not Come From Winning. Your Struggles Develop Your Strengths. When You Go Through Hardships and Decide Not To Surrender, That Is Strength

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

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First Principles: Naked I Came From My Mother’s Womb and Naked I will Depart. The Lord Gave and the Lord Has Taken Away; May the Name of the Lord Be Praised

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.[a]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”
– Job 1:21

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